5 Fast Growing Careers on the Cheap

The following is a guest post by Bob Hartzell, an inhouse editor for Master Degree Online.com. Easily find and compare graduate programs from most online masters degree programs available today.

If you’re wandering around wondering what happened to the job market and the economy that used to support it, you are not alone.  The question is what to do about it.  Those of us that have been looking for work for too long have to make a choice at some point and often that choice is downsizing our career expectations.  One of the alternatives to taking what you can get is gulping some air and deciding to change your idea of what you want to something new that you can achieve.  One of the ways to do that is through a part time, online graduate degree program.  Here’s a list of five jobs that are projected by the U.S. Department of Labor to be among the fastest growing career opportunities in the country over the next decade – and what you’ll need to do to get one.

1. Software Engineer: This field is expected to grow by almost 40% by 2018.  One of the consumer phenomena driving this sector is the growth of mobile devices.  In addition virtually every consumer product out there priced over $59.95 has an embedded chip in it.  Software engineers have become indispensable for new product development in almost every area.  You can get a Masters in Software Engineering online from Arizona State University or Penn State; they’ll help you with the math and statistics prerequisites.
2. Accountants and Auditors: These are evergreen careers for which the growth is driven in part by increasing regulatory requirements.  This field will be expanding by 22% over the next eight years.  The key to a good accounting job today is CPA status; every state requires a certain number of classroom hours beyond a bachelor’s degree in order to qualify for state licensure.  Most colleges have turned this requirement into a Master of Accounting degree, which is available online from the University of Massachusetts, the University of New Mexico, the University of Maryland and a whole lot of other places.
3. Network Systems and Data Analysts: This is a hopelessly complicated sounding name for a wide variety of IT jobs and career paths.  The message in the title is that information systems work is going to increase by over 50% over the next decade and there will be an endless variety of specialization niches within it.  A Masters in Information Systems (MIS) is available online from Boston University, Syracuse University and Missouri State.  You’ll need to brush up on your math for this one.
4. Nursing: This field is going to add a half million new professionals over the next decade.  An advanced practice nurse with a MSN degree earns in excess of $80,000 today.  There are MSN bridge programs for professionals with a bachelor’s degree in a field other than nursing; they generally take two to three years to complete.  Online programs for this degree are available through Loyola University of New Orleans, Drexel University and dozens of other schools.
5. Counseling: This may entail school counseling, substance abuse counseling, or social work positions of many types.  The substance abuse field is expected to grow tremendous growth, unfortunately.  The best choice for a counseling degree is probably a Masters in Social Work, which requires substantial clinical hours spent in an internship role.  The academic side of the profession can be found in online programs through Florida State University, University of Southern California and the University of Washington.

Crystal’s Comments:  Once again it comes to my attention that a masters degree in Social Work may be something I need to look into since Counseling may be something I’d be good at.  What fast growing jobs can you think of?

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